


After the war

by grisc



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Author Is Sleep Deprived, Author is taking All The Creative Liberties, But most of it isn't even in his POV, Complicated Relationships, Dave | Technoblade and Wilbur Soot and TommyInnit are Siblings, Dysfunctional Family, Everyone Needs Therapy, F/M, Fix-It of Sorts, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, I don't write romance but wear whatever goggles you want, I love my chaotic anxious boy but oh my god, I might be wearing dnf goggles while writing this please don't kill me for it, Insane Wilbur Soot, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Multi, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Sad Dave | Technoblade, Sad TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Spoilers for Dream SMP but this is an AU, Suicidal Thoughts, Suicide Attempt, The rating should probably be M but mostly just canon typical violence/swearing stuff, Wilbur Soot Needs a Hug, also I'm looking at YOU dream, and I try to give every character love and respect, believe it or not I don't actually have 50+ hours to watch everyone's POV, definite wilbur bias because I love wilbur a lot, he's definitely not a hero in this story either, he's surrounded by enablers and other villains okay, kind of?, so sorry if some details are wrong, this fic is sympathetic to everyone! but lets not pretend that Wilbur is the only villain here, yes you technoblade
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-24
Updated: 2020-11-24
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:09:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,095
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27688075
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/grisc/pseuds/grisc
Summary: Wilbur pushed the button fully expecting to die with the rest of L'Manburg. Techno summoned the Withers knowing they would kill everyone he'd ever remotely cared about. Neither of them are looking for redemption.Phil spares both of them anyway, because he's going to put his broken family back together again if it fucking kills him.
Relationships: Clay | Dream & GeorgeNotFound & Sapnap (Video Blogging RPF), Dave | Technoblade & Wilbur Soot, Dave | Technoblade & Wilbur Soot & TommyInnit & Phil Watson, Toby Smith | Tubbo & TommyInnit, Wilbur Soot & Phil Watson, Wilbur Soot & TommyInnit
Comments: 27
Kudos: 313





	After the war

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick warning: please read the tags. This fic is going to go off canon and it's really just a little fic about family and recovery and all that jazz. I'll try my best not to abandon it immediately after posting this chapter but keep in mind that it's not all written yet so updates will probably not be too quick. I hope you enjoy reading :]

* * *

Getting rid of Schlatt and replacing the L of L'Manburg had been far too easy. 

Even if Schlatt hadn’t been an alcoholic doing the waltz with liver and cardiovascular issues, nearly every resident of Manburg had fallen against his administration in one way or another. Fundy had apparently been double-crossing all along (if his twenty-page autobiography was anything to go by), Eret and Niki had never shown a real hint of loyalty towards Schlatt (especially after the original flag’s burning), and Tubbo was more of a glorified hostage (if that). Even Quackity had turned on the man after the whole White House situation, and everyone knew George’s real alliance was with Dream— Schlatt had no one, and even if he hadn’t drowned himself in booze, there was never going to be a war over it. 

It was a little disappointing.

So Techno would be lying if he said he didn’t feel a little thrill of elation when he took a second glance during Tubbo’s speech and saw Wilbur’s chair sitting empty behind him. He knew exactly what was going to happen when Wilbur threw a halfhearted ‘I’ll be back’ over one shoulder before disappearing behind the stage, leaving the crowd to continue their oblivious celebrations. 

_You’ve got this, Wilbur,_ he thought, craning his neck a bit to share a look with Dream. He’d been worried for nothing; the plan was still going through. He was acutely aware of the ender chest lying within his inventory, the material necessary for two Withers resting inside that. The weight of it was heavy on his shoulders, but in a good sort of way that only made him that much more determined to see the plan through. 

It was ridiculous. The fact that Schlatt hadn’t even been gone a whole day and the country was already going back to the status quo just solidified the fact that things could never truly change-- not when people found out what power felt like. Corruption was inevitable in any kind of government; Techno had seen that firsthand. _Blow_ _it all to hell, Wilbur._

Tubbo was still standing at the podium giving his impromptu inaugural speech. It wasn't completely terrible, either, although he was clearly still reeling from Wilbur’s nomination. Nomination was the only way to put it, because there was no democratic election this time around. No, L’Manburg was returning to her old ways of nepotism, leaders chosen on a whim based on superficiality instead of qualification. 

Techno couldn’t even find it in himself to be irritated; ultimately it wouldn’t matter how the leaders were chosen-- the inherent corruption came from the system itself, and Schlatt had been a prime example of it. 

At his spot in the crowd, Tommy gave a loud cheering whoop, grinning up at his best friend with pride shining on his face. No matter what he’d said earlier, Tommy had clearly been uneasy about handing L’Manburg back to Wilbur. But with Tubbo taking up the presidency instead, well… it’d been a long time since Techno had seen his little brother smile like that.

Guilt twisted in his chest. While he and Wilbur were fully prepared to die in the aftermath, their younger brother hadn’t made the same commitment. He was little more than collateral damage. Unfortunate-- but still not enough to stop them. The plan was too important. 

It wouldn’t matter once it was over. 

“We should probably start by taking down my execution decorations,” Tubbo finished. After another round of applause, the newly reinstated L’Manburg residents began dispersing back into the city. Techno felt his skin itch. 

_What the fuck is Wilbur doing down there?_

He briefly wondered if something had happened to the redstone wiring again, or if Wilbur was just growing a last-minute conscience. God help them all if he was hesitating because of Tommy-- Techno thought they’d gotten past any sentimental barriers, but Wilbur was in such an unpredictable mindset that he wouldn’t put it past him. 

Silent complacence wasn’t their only problem. Techno could feel Dream’s impatient gaze boring through the back of his head, waiting for some kind of signal to move the plan into action. He wasn’t kidding as he joked about them forming an ominous line— Punz and Sapnap (but notably not George) were shoulder to shoulder with Dream, all three with weapons and shields drawn. They couldn’t be more obvious if they tried. 

_Wait for Wilbur to push the button,_ he silently willed, more than a little annoyed at the fact that he was finding himself working with Dream. _Use the chaos as a smokescreen to get Tubbo, then tell any survivors that we’re evolving the system to anarchy. No more Dreams, no more Wilburs, no more Schlatts, no more Tubbos. Let’s melt down Eret’s crown and make axes from the metal._

Slowly, he rose from his seat, watching Tommy run over to Tubbo with that blinding smile and throwing him into an embrace filled with congratulations. Niki was watching the two of them with a soft expression, hands clasped in front of her knees. She wasn’t the only one. The atmosphere was infectious, everyone smiling, joking, and laughing like they’d already found their happy ending. 

Techno would be damned if this was how the war ended. Settling for contentment like sheep, settling for yet another faithless government. If changes were going to be made, they would be made now. 

Knowing there was no way around it, Techno finally turned his full attention to Dream, who still had his mask directed back at him. He shrugged helplessly in response, but that wasn’t good enough for Dream, who murmured something to Sapnap before approaching him. 

“Is he doing it?” 

Techno made a show of looking around at Dream’s group. “Any reason why George isn’t here?” To most, his voice would sound like the usual monotone drawl, but there was a knowing edge to his words. 

Dream’s posture visibly stiffened. It was the reaction of a guilty man. _Got you._ “That’s not-- don’t change the subject, Techno. _Wilbur_. Is he going to do it or not?”

“Are you ready for it?” 

“I’ll have your back,” Dream said, more brusque than reassuring. 

Techno held in a sigh. Dream still didn’t quite seem to understand that he wasn’t particularly interested in joining Team Chaos. He didn’t want _any_ sort of team, any allies, any alliance-- and as soon as they’d destroyed L’Manburg’s newest administration, he wasn’t going to have any qualms about turning on Dream and his goons. 

Well, that was that.

He didn’t know if Wilbur was really planning on keeping his end of the deal or not, and on the off chance that he wasn’t they needed to move onto plan B. Maybe if they got lucky the explosions from the Withers would set off the TNT beneath the stage and it wouldn’t even matter if Wilbur chose not to hit the button. 

_But if they go off while Wilbur is still down there--_

Techno shoved away the thought. It didn’t matter. _Besides, at this point, Wilbur would probably thank me for it,_ he thought dryly, even as the thought made something in his chest ache with a bone-deep weariness. It was the truth, though, and a truth Wilbur wasn’t even trying to hide. He hadn’t come decked out in enchantments like the rest of them. He wasn’t even wearing armor. His only weapon was the button, and he didn’t need anything else. 

But since he was apparently taking his sweet time with that, Techno figured he might as well get the ball rolling. Even with the mask, it was clear Dream was about to blow a gasket if the fighting didn’t start soon, and Techno could sympathize with that. 

He was aching for mindless, ruthless, unfiltered, _senseless_ violence. He wanted to see the blood.

“This is a good thing, this is such a good thing for the country,” someone commented loudly, collecting streamers from one of the building ledges. The others broke into agreement and laughter, including Tommy, who only seemed to get more riled up when he noticed Dream’s men still standing silently in the middle of the walkway. 

“Hey everyone, look at the bad guys over here,” Tommy jeered, getting up in Dream’s face. “The real villain in this story is _you_ , Dream. So was all of that traitor stuff just bullshit, then?”

Techno held his breath as Dream looked back at Tommy with an eerie calmness. He could feel the tension rising tenfold, could see Punz’s eyes flicking over to dream, waiting for orders to attack. “Oh, no,” Dream said, “there really was a traitor.”

Everyone grew quiet. Tommy sputtered for a moment, clearly thrown off. “Oh-- yeah, well, they’ve missed their fucking chance now, haven’t they?”

“No. They haven’t,” Dream smiled.

His fingers tightened imperceptibly around the hilt of his sword, and just like that, time was up. 

_Any time now, Wilbur!_

Fuck it. 

Techno pulled out his rocket launcher and beelined for the courtyard Tubbo was standing in. It reminded him of Tolstoy-- like a starving man given food, he broke through the shell of stagnancy and took aim, embracing the bloodlust that was quickly consuming him. 

He couldn’t take any satisfaction from attacking Tubbo. The kid was defenseless, not even wearing his armor, but the fact of the matter was that Tubbo was the new president of L’Manburg. Techno pulled the trigger and let the burst of color cover the sound of screaming. But the second he did, everything else went to hell because--

_Holy shit-- Phil just joined._

That wasn’t part of the plan.

 _Fuck_ , Techno thought, mind racing as he moved in front of Tubbo’s body, trying to tune out Tommy’s inconsolable screaming and the confused shouting. He hadn’t expected Phil to show up at the worst time possible, but it changed nothing. Not even Phil could stop what they’d started. 

“Alright, listen here!” He yelled, pointing the launcher towards the panicking crowd. Tommy met his eyes, staring at him while horrified realization finally sank in. 

_That’s right._ “Do you understand now? The only heroes in this world are the dead ones, Tommy. Schlatt embodied what the living are-- the corrupt taking power! How can’t you all see that you’re _just_ like him?!” He screamed every syllable, letting his voice echo across the city before sending another rocket flying haphazardly in Eret’s general direction. Dream’s squad rushed forward, and the battle began. Even Tommy took off running despite the bloody wound dripping from his hip. 

Techno roared, feeling more alive than he’d felt in years.

“Where’s Wilbur?” Niki yelled, parrying a blow from Punz and scrambling backwards. The words rang throughout the war-torn L’Manburg like a chorus, but no one seemed to have an answer. 

Between shots, Techno whipped out his own sword to dual-wield, slashing away anyone who dared come near. He almost laughed when Sapnap reeled back in surprise, clearly not having expected Techno to attack his supposed allies. _Your mistake_ he thought viciously. _I’ll kill every single one of you, no matter which country’s title you take up._

_“Techno!"_

Oh boy. 

He whirled around to face Tommy head-on, because like hell if he was about to listen to his little brother _plead_ with him to stop. Fortunately for him, Tommy couldn’t even get that far because everything turned into white noise as the bomb finally detonated.

The rest of the world disappeared behind smoke and ash, blasting everything away. Techno could only stare as the ground tore open beneath their feet, TNT raining from the skies and chain-detonating houses and fountains and farms in one massive eruption. 

It was glorious. 

He couldn’t be sure if the noise was from the explosions or from what had become ubiquitous screaming. He threw himself behind one of the crumbling concrete walls, covering his neck with both hands and tucking his head into his knees while the worst of it continued. 

_"YES!”_ He heard Dream screech.

”NO!”

Tommy was sitting up on his back in the dirt, scratches littering his arms and legs, watching the country light up like one of Technoblade’s firework shows. The grime on his face was smeared with tears. “He did it,” he whispered. “Wilbur… he fucking did it…”

“The absolute madman,” Techno crawled to his feet, peering around the edge of the wall. The stage, where they’d all just been sitting a few moments before, had turned into a ravine of rubble. Water from the fountains was freely flooding up the right half of the gorge, spilling out into what remained of the streets. 

And, in the newly blasted mountain, kneeling in the rubble with a manic grin and tears rolling down his cheeks, was Wilbur Soot. 

“He did it,” Techno agreed, chest flaring with pride.

A fucked up sort of pride, a bitter pride-- but pride nonetheless.

He actually did it. 

Phil was standing at Wilbur’s side, eyes wide and mouth forming an ‘o’ as he looked out across the ruins. His wings were still uncurling around him from where they’d presumably been used as a buffer against the detonation. Seeing his face again was more than a little jarring, and Technoblade had to look away almost as fast as he’d glanced up. _Don’t act so shocked, Phil. For Wilbur, maybe, but for me? We both know I’ve always been this way._

Right, the Withers. Not wanting his thoughts to fester on Wilbur and Techno and Tommy and all the implications of them being together again for the first time in years, Techno rolled over, dragging himself towards the edge of the crater and digging around his inventory for the ender chest. Wilbur had held up his end, bless his soul, and Techno would follow through with his.

No time like the present. 

“My unfinished symphony, forever unfinished!” He heard Wilbur scream, words muffled by distance and the thick clouds of dust still settling. It was a nice reminder that he wasn’t even the most insane person here. 

He felt Phil’s eyes on him as he rifled through the chest, pulling out soul sand by the handful. 

_Are you proud of me?_

He’d pulled out all six of the skulls from his bag when he heard Tommy’s anguished cry. Tommy was crouched over in the wreckage of the courtyard, cradling Tubbo’s head in his lap. To Techno’s surprise, the smaller boy groaned and gave a weak cough. “Tubbo, c’mon, stick with me-- stick close--”

Damn. He hadn’t even managed to actually kill the kid. But going by the growing pool of red beneath him, he’d still be dead within the hour. Those kids had been through far too much hell in such a short lifespan. Techno turned back to the skulls.

“Don’t worry, Tommy,” he called, meaning every word. “It’ll all be over soon anyway.”

“Stop, stop _now, Techno,_ ” Tommy cried, stumbling to his feet the second he realized what he was doing. 

“You stay right over there,” Techno snarled, raising the rocket launcher in warning even though he wasn’t sure he’d be able to pull the trigger point-blank on family. He thought Tommy might’ve actually kept going if not for Tubbo’s body lying prone beside him. Instead, his little brother raised both hands defensively and puffed out a breath, looking so much older than he really was. Still an obnoxious, naïve little idiot-- but he wasn’t trying to commit genocide or nuke a country, so maybe he really had been the good child all along. 

“You don’t have to do this--”

“Do you want to be a hero?!”

Tommy glared at him, wiping away miserable tears with a filthy sleeve. “I just wanted L’Manburg. That’s all I’ve _ever_ wanted--”

“You remember what I said before. The only heroes in this world are the dead ones. You want to be a hero so badly? Then die like one!” 

He placed all six skulls at once, stepping back as the Withers rose into the air. Shouts rang out across the ruins as survivors realized what he’d done. Even Dream and his men charged forward from the top of a nearby ledge-- clearly, he hadn’t expected Techno to go farther than the bomb. The Withers weren’t just a problem for L’Manburg-- eventually they would become a problem for Dream, too.

“Technoblade!” He hissed. “This wasn’t the plan!” 

Techno readjusted his rocket launcher, giving him a flat look at letting the (very real) threat register. “This was always the plan, Dream. You say you’re on the side of chaos, but you’re no different than the rest of ‘em-- just fighting to snatch up whatever power vacuum gets left behind.” 

_Refusing to let the people you really care about get caught up in the crossfire. That’s why George isn’t here, isn’t it?_

He leapt out of the way before Sapnap’s arrow could land, and they both ran in opposite directions as the first Wither dropped an explosion between them. Techno threw himself onto his side, coughs wracking his chest. He grimaced at the sharp pain threading through his shin and ankle. He must’ve gotten hit by some shrapnel. _Damn_.

Through the smoke, he could still see the courtyard. Phil was standing there, leaning protectively over Tubbo and Tommy. It looked like he was instructing Tommy on wrapping Tubbo’s wounds, but that wasn’t the part that surprised Techno. The surprising part was Wilbur’s body: pale, battered beyond belief, and draped across Phil’s arms like a corpse. 

The sight made him still. 

They were fighting for vastly different reasons, sure, but at the end of the day Wilbur had been the only person who really understood him. They shared a deep resentment, a bitterness towards people as a whole, a jaded attitude towards power that came from experience. Unlike Dream, Wilbur had a genuine desire for destruction. Where Dream wanted the rest of the world to fall so he could take his place at the top, Wilbur wanted to go down with it.

It was different from before, when they’d really been a family, and they’d laughed and sang together-- but they were still brothers. Wilbur had been his partner in crime. 

He almost wished he shared Wilbur’s complete lack of self-preservation just so he could escape it all with him, but he was determined to live long enough to see their work through.

He’d die when he was the only one left to kill, and not one second sooner. 

Another boom rippled through the air. It could’ve been more delayed TNT going off in the distant corners of the city or more destruction from the Withers, Techno wasn’t sure. He could see the plume of smoke rising from the tattered remains of the obsidian Manburgian flag, framed by several trees that had caught fire at the base of the pole. 

Techno gripped his leg, puffing a breath of air through his teeth. The metal had punctured through the armor entirely, practically cleaving the leg piece in half. He tore off part of his cape to bind the open area, letting the remaining armor work as a splint, but even as he tried to regain his footing, his knee gave out entirely, sending him back to the ground. 

Shit. He wasn’t ready for it to be over. 

It wasn’t just his shin, though-- now that the adrenaline was coming down, he could feel the throbbing in the back of his head, the blood dripping down his left shoulder, where there was a gap between his chestplate and the armor wrapping around his arms. He couldn’t tell if the red coating his hands was entirely his own or not, but blisters were still forming over the calluses. 

“Techno.”

He looked up. Phil was standing in front of him, because of _c_ _ourse_ he was. Wilbur’s body had been abandoned on the ground beside Tubbo and Tommy, the latter of whom was watching their father with wide, concerned eyes. 

“You think you can kill me too, old man?” Techno asked, meeting Phil’s eye and tilting his head. “Even like this, we both know I could still beat you.”

Phil looked tired. “I’m not here to kill you, Techno.”

“So why come?” Techno snarled, raising himself up to lean on his forearms. “Why _now?”_

Phil came down on one knee, expression twisting when Techno pulled away sharply. “I was trying to stop Wilbur,” he said quietly, ignoring the tension radiating off of Techno and reaching out again, hands hovering over the wound, but never quite touching, as he inspected the damage. “I’m sorry I didn’t come sooner… I should’ve been here.”

He wanted to be angry, but the fight was draining out of him. L’Manburg was a hole in the ground, and even if the others managed to take down the Withers, the damage was done. 

“It wouldn’t’ve changed a thing,” Techno told him, missing the malice behind his words. He let out another hacking cough, slipping back down to the ground as he struggled to get the dust from his lungs. Phil placed a steadying hand over his good shoulder, holding him up. 

“We’ll sort it out,” he said. 

Techno snorted, letting his eyes fall shut. “There’s no ‘sorting this out’. Look around you. Don’t pretend like any of this can be fixed.”

“You’re not thinkin’ straight, Techno,” Phil murmured. The hand on his shoulder rose up to cup his jawbone, but Techno wrenched out of the hold immediately, twisting his head away. He didn’t need comforting, like he was a child who didn’t know the ramifications of what he’d done, like he was somehow a victim in this situation. “You’ve gotta let go right now, alright? Things will be clearer when you wake up.”

“I would rather die here than wake up tomorrow in your idea of a perfect world,” Techno told him bluntly. 

Phil’s lips thinned. “You and Wilbur,” he sighed. “God, you two… I don’t know what I’m going to do with you, I really don’t. But you’re still my boys. You’re still my sons, no matter how far you’ve taken things-- I want to hear you out, Techno, because I know you always have a reason for the things you do, but I also know that this isn’t the way to go about it. This is insanity.”

“But violently overthrowing Schlatt’s democratically-elected administration _wasn’t?”_

“Look at L’Manburg!” Phil snapped. “How does blowing the country up-- how does an endless cycle of destruction lead to something better?”

“The devil you know,” Techno retorted. “My world might be brutal, but at least it’s honest. You can hide the corruption behind Tubbo’s innocent face or you can hide it underneath the guise of democracy, but that doesn’t change that it’s rotting away from the inside. I’m aiming for something a little more straightforward.”

There hadn’t been an explosion in a long while. Around them in the falling ash, an unexpected quiet had formed. He wondered if that meant the rest of them had actually managed to stop the Withers. With the combined effort of Dream’s team, he supposed, it certainly wouldn’t be impossible. 

“Did Wilbur ask you to kill him?” Techno asked, meeting Phil’s eye.

Phil visibly had to fight the urge to flinch at the nonchalant way Techno said it, but he kept his gaze firmly on Techno when he responded.

“Yes.”

“And you wouldn’t do it,” Techno said, more of a statement than a question.

“No,” Phil agreed. “I couldn’t.”

“Tommy could’ve died.”

Phil’s face darkened. “Trust me, I’m well aware.”

“I won’t stop trying to kill them. If you want me alive, you’ll have to keep me chained up like an animal for the rest of my days. Is that what you want?”

“Just _stop_ , Techno. I know what you’re trying to do, and the answer is no-- I’m not killing you.”

Techno deflated, sinking back into the ground. His shin must’ve been worse than he thought; his vision was starting to wobble around the edges, giving way to a fuzzy darkness that could only be the result of blood loss. He wondered if his head wound had been a little more extensive than he’d initially thought. 

His eyes flicked open-- he hadn’t remembered closing them-- when he felt Phil’s hand come up to take his pulse. The most he could do was raise one arm to try and bat away Phil, but his movements were sluggish and weak, merely brushing against Phil’s sleeve as the darkness sucked him deeper. 

He’d always been a fighter, but it meant nothing against the sweet embrace of unconsciousness. He felt his eyes roll back into his head and finally allowed himself go under.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm pretty nervous to post this, please let me know what you think! I'm really sorry I'm not completely up to date with all the details of the Dream SMP!verse, it's very large and I've only been here for a week or so. (ᵕ ᵕ⁎)


End file.
